


Grave Goods

by nostalgia



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Archaeology, Daleks - Freeform, F/M, Handcuffs, quarries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-16 22:10:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9291659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nostalgia/pseuds/nostalgia
Summary: The Doctor visits a quarry, meets River Song, and finds something remarkable.





	

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and into a quarry. This was deeply annoying, as he had been aiming for a beach, but he was currently travelling alone and so had no one complain to. He turned to the tall blue box, thought about kicking the woodwork and settled for a gentle pat on the door-frame. “What is it with you and quarries?” 

The TARDIS remained silent, though a soft tapping in the Doctor's cerebrum communicated something a bit like embarrassment. Or it might have been pride. Or possibly arousal?

He looked around. It wasn't a _bad_ quarry, in fact it looked to be quite good for a big hole made of rock, but it still wasn't a beach. He liked to think that his control of the TARDIS was excellent, these days, but there were always mistakes and when those mistakes happened they tended to end up in quarries. 

Well, maybe it was an especially interesting quarry, with unknown rocks and unexpected gravel? He picked a direction at random and set off in search of adventure. 

As he reached the top of a slight hill he saw an area of ground divided neatly into sections, with people who looked more-or-less human poking at the dirt. It looked suspiciously like an archaeological dig, the appeal of which had always eluded the Doctor because what was the point when you could just nip backwards in time to find out what _really_ happened? Doubtless these people – like all archaeologists in his experience – would be only too eager to explain what they were doing and possibly ask for some sort of cash donation to the cause. They tended to be so... enthusiastic.  
.  
He decided to leave, right now, before anyone could try to outline the importance and value of digging up things that had been perfectly happy staying in the ground. 

“You took your time,” said a horribly familiar voice.

The Doctor turned round and almost fell over River Song, who was standing far too close and who was alive and well and had her hair always been that big? He tried to think of a cool response that would make him look in control of events while also conveying that he was far too good for archaeology. 

“Sorry?” he managed to croak.

River tugged at his arm and he had to follow her down the hill towards the dig. “I expected you _days_ ago. Of course, if you actually answered your phone we'd all be -”

“Wait, wait, what? You expected me? I only came here by accident, even I wasn't expecting me!”

“You didn't get my note?” She seemed surprised. “Well, I suppose you'd better mention this in your diary in case another you turns up from the future. Usually I wouldn't mind, but I only have so much room in my tent.”

He stopped, shook her hand from his arm, and said, “Why don't I leave and come back later, then?”

“Oh no, I know what you're like. You'll get distracted and forget to come back, and then what would happen? No, you're staying.”

“You don't even like this me!” he protested.

“I never said that!”

“You said I'm hard work when I'm young. And you called me Pretty-Boy.”

She touched his chin to turn his face from one side to the other. “Well, it is a _bit_ pretty. But I'm sure it'll age nicely.”

He batted her hand away. “Stop it!”

“If you're going to complain about everything perhaps it's better if you _do_ leave!” She looked suddenly vulnerable, and he remembered how hurt she had been in the Library when he told her they'd never met before. 

“Sorry,” he said, mostly for things she hadn't been through yet. He sighed. “Why did you want me to come here?”

“I found something I thought you might like to look at,” she said. 

“Okay, I'll look at it.” He tried a friendly smile. 

River visibly relaxed. “Thank you.” 

They started walking again, though at a slightly more comfortable distance this time. Which might be a bad thing, if he was right about who River could be in his future. Still, at least they weren't arguing. He followed her under a large canopy to what looked to be the main attraction.

“A skeleton?” he asked, unimpressed and a bit confused.

“Take a closer look,” said River, quietly. 

The Doctor leaned closer to the bones. When he realised what he was looking at his hearts sped up and a chill ran down his spine. 

“I'm right, aren't I?” said River. “This is the body of a Time Lord.”

“How did you know?” he asked, because the Time Lords had been very, very good at keeping certain things secret.

“I have an intimate knowledge of Gallifreyan anatomy,” she said easily.

He decided to ignore what that might imply and focus on the issue at hand. “Was there anything else here, or just the bones?”

River shook her head. “Just these, but according to my scans there's something inside the skull,” she said, pointing. “Obviously I didn't want to -”

The Doctor picked up the skull and turned it over in his hands. 

“- disturb the archaeology,” she finished. 

Something small and silver fell out onto his palm. He handed the skull to River, and pulled his glasses from a coat pocket. He held the little piece of metal up to the light. 

“What is it?” asked River.

He turned back to her. “Nothing. Just a bit of metal. Your site must have been contaminated at some point.”

River let out a breath. “Are you sure?”

“Sorry to disappoint you,” he said. 

She touched his arm. “No, I'm sorry.”

He stared at her for a moment, wondering just what his future self had told her. He cleared his throat. “You were right about the bones, though. Would you mind if I..?”

“Of course, you can take them.”

Someone coughed behind them. “Professor Song, we can't just -”

“Shut up,” she said without looking round. She put a hand over the Doctor's. “If there's anything else we can do, all you have to do is ask.”

“Thanks,” he said, sincerely.

River turned her head. “Someone get a box for these, please.”

“Are you going to get into any sort of trouble for this?” he asked, a bit of guilt compelling him to at least enquire.

River shrugged. “Oh, I'll just say they got lost somewhere. The museum funding the dig isn't very important anyway.”

Someone brought over a wooden box and River helped him get the bones into it. “Will you be alright?” she asked.

“I'm always alright,” he said, without even thinking about it.

River looked at him strangely, then quickly kissed his cheek. “See you later, then,” she said.

“Yeah.”

 

When he got back to the TARDIS he put down the box, took off his coat and reached into his pocket to retrieve the small fragment of metal that had fallen out of the skull.

It wasn't there. 

Fighting panic he checked his other pockets for the precious artefact. 

“Are you looking for this?” asked River, holding out her hand with something shining in the palm.

“How did you get in here?” he demanded, stepping up the ramp towards her. “Where did you get that?”

“You gave me a key, and it was in your pocket,” she replied easily. “Are you going to tell me why you stole this?”

“I didn't steal it,” he said, reaching her and making a grab for the metal as she pulled her hand away. “You said I could take it.”

“I said you could take _the bones_ not the micro-transmitter that you found in the skull.” She moved away easily when he tried to get hold of her hand. 

“If you know what it is then you know why I need it,” he said, frustrated.

“I'm coming with you,” she said.

“You're not.”

“My... a mutual friend of ours told me never to leave you on your own when you're upset about Gallifrey. She'd be very angry with me if I let you get hurt somehow.”

The Doctor stopped moving and looked at River. “I'm not going to get hurt. Promise.”

River nodded. “I know, because I'll be there to look after you.”

“If you think I'm going let you tag along and then write a monograph about the experience -”

“This is far more important than my career,” she said, looking shocked at the suggestion. “You really don't know me yet, do you?”

The Doctor thought it over. “You can come with me,” he said eventually, “but on my terms.” He held out his hand and River, after a moment's consideration, dropped the micro-transmitter onto it. “Right,” he said, “the first rule -”

“Oh, be quiet, Sweetie, I never pay attention to your rules.” 

Why was he even going along with this? Nobody told him what to do, except maybe Donna and she... Well, Donna was gone now, wasn't she? 

“Let's see what's on that thing,” said River, distracting him from his thoughts. 

The Doctor found the appropriate slot in the console and slid the piece of metal into it. The controls lit up and numbers scrolled across the scanner-screen in Gallifreyan. 

“Coordinates,” said River, looking over his shoulder. “No signature.”

He punched in the coordinates and pulled the dematerialisation lever. 

“Isn't this a bit rash?” asked River, bumping into the console as the ship lurched to one side. “Shouldn't you at least find out where we're going first?”

“No time,” said the Doctor, flipping a few switches.

“We're in a _time-machine_. Those bones were underground for at least three hundred years, there's no need to hurry.” River held onto the railings. “I don't think the TARDIS is very happy, either.”

“Just a spot of temporal turbulence,” said the Doctor, with was a complete lie but usually managed to reassure his passengers.

“No such thing,” said River. The ship was rocking quite violently now and had the Doctor been the type to admit such things he would have said he was a getting a bit concerned. 

“Hold on!” he told River, “I think we're almost -”

The lights went out, and the gravity switched itself off and on again, and there was a worrying crunching sound from the engines. The Doctor hit the floor and then River hit him. 

The Doctor held his breath.

The emergency lighting came on, dim but steady, and the background noise of the TARDIS returned to a more familiar and less worrying hum.

“There,” he said, as casually as he could manage, “nothing to worry about.”

“That's the last time I let you drive,” said River, and he realised that he had automatically embraced her in an attempt to keep her safe. Which was understandable but he didn't want her getting any ideas. His hands were a bit too close to certain key areas, so he moved them away as quickly as seemed polite.

River got to her feet first. “The scanner isn't working,” she said as she examined the controls. “You'll have to reboot most of the systems before they'll do anything,” she said. 

The Doctor moved her carefully to one side and checked the console himself. “You're right,” he said with some surprise.

“Of course I'm right,” said River, watching as he opened a hatch under the console and slid into the space behind it. 

“There's a reset button here somewhere,” he said, moving some dangling wires. “Ah, found it.” He pressed the button and waited. “Anything?”

River moved to check the controls again. “Everything's coming back online.”

“Good.” The question of _why_ River knew how the TARDIS worked could wait for another time. He pulled himself out of the hatch and closed it again. He thought for a moment and then headed for the exterior doors.

“Where are you going?” asked River.

“I want to see what's outside,” he told her. 

“But -”

Ignoring her protests he pulled the door open and looked out to see where they were. 

Space. Deep space. He leaned out a bit further than was entirely safe to look around, but all he could see was cold, empty space.

He slammed the door shut again and turned to River. “Maybe we're not in the right place.” He stepped up to the console. “There should be _something_ here,” he said, as the main lighting came back on. 

“Perhaps we took a wrong turn somewhere,” said River, obviously trying to keep him calm. 

“Or there's just nothing.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I don't know what I was expecting. There isn't anyone else left, it's just me.”

River put a hand on his arm and he didn't try to dislodge her. 

An insistent bleeping started on the console and a little red light blinked rapidly on and off and on again. The Doctor stared at it. “That's my alarm! I set it years ago, in case she ever found another TARDIS. But there's nothing here!”

“The scanner's back on,” said River. 

He pushed her aside without thinking and looked at the screen. “Nothing. How can there be a TARDIS if there's nothing out there?” He looked at River expectantly. 

“I don't know,” she said. “You never told me what happened here. And even if you _had_ I couldn't tell you, and you know that.”

He stared at her, trying to decide if she was lying. “If you know anything, tell me now, or...”

“Or what?” She put her hands on her hips. “You'll put me over your knee and spank me? Don't threaten me, Doctor, because I can hurt you just as easily as you can hurt me.”

“I wouldn't hurt you,” he said, a bit ashamed. “Sorry, I just... I don't know what to do.”

River nodded. “How do you know there's not a TARDIS out there somewhere?”

“Because there's nothing there! Not even a door floating in space! How would anyone... oh.” Oh, that was clever. That was _really_ , _really_ clever. His hearts sped up and he turned back to the controls. “How do you keep someone out of a TARDIS, River?”

“Lock the door?” 

“Assume they have a key.”

“Well, the door isn't really... No, that's impossible.”

“Why is it impossible?” he asked, and now he was grinning. 

River stared at him. “If you take the outside away then how would you get in or out? How would you even stabilise the threshold between real space and the pocket universe?”

The Doctor bounced on his heels. “I have no idea but I love it!” He gestured towards the other side of the console. “Check for local distortions, it should be close.” River hurried to do as he asked and he tapped a few commands on a keyboard.

“Found it!” He reached for the dematerialisation lever, but River pushed herself between him and the controls. “What?”

“You can't put a TARDIS inside another TARDIS, that's far too dangerous, even for you.”

“You're not my mother,” he said, trying to move her to one side.

“No, but I know the risks and I don't want either of us to die.” 

“River.”

“Doctor.”

“I've done this before.”

“Not without the Time Lords around to clean up afterwards,” she countered. “Think of something else.”

“There's no door, River. There's no way in and there's no way out. We have to rematerialise inside the other set of internal dimensions and that's what we're going to do.”

River bit her bottom lip. He could tell she was wavering. 

“You know me in my future, River, do you really think I'd do this without another option?”

She stepped aside. “You're insane,” she muttered.

“And you like it,” he said, pulling the dematerialisation lever down.

 

They didn't die and there wasn't even a small explosion. It was almost disappointing, really. 

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and into a large room with white walls. He patted the police box with a hand. “Well done, old girl.” River appeared at his side. “See? Nothing to worry about.”

She shook her head. “The boundaries could still collapse, if the internal -”

“It's fine,” he insisted. He looked around the room. “Hello? Anyone here?”

They listened to the echoing silence for a few moments and then River said, “I don't like this.” She shivered. “I can feel someone tap-dancing on my grave.”

“We could be in part of the ship nobody ever uses. Come on,” he said, setting off through a doorway cut into one of the walls.

He tried to remain cheery as they walked down a long unmarked corridor. “We're bound to meet someone sooner or later, they should have detected the materialisation. Maybe they're putting the kettle on for us.”

“Maybe,” said River, and he didn't like how wary she sounded. 

“Were you born this pessimistic?” he asked her.

“It was beaten into me as a child,” she said lightly, which was presumably a lie.

“Don't worry so much. I go all over the place and hardly ever run into trouble. Well, almost hardly-ever. Not _regularly_ , it's not like it's a weekly occurrence.” 

He turned a corner and walked straight into trouble. “Oh, that's not good.”

He took a step backwards and bumped into River. Turning, he took her hand and said, “I think we should run.”

“What is it?” asked River, but she started running anyway.

“DO NOT MOVE!”

“Daleks,” said the Doctor, pulling her along the corridor. 

The space in front of them started to shimmer and before they could get very far a white wall materialised between them and safety. River swore. 

“DO NOT MOVE!”

A trio of Daleks slid up the corridor towards them. The Doctor stepped in front of River as though that would be in any way helpful if the Daleks decided to kill them. “I should have known it was a trap,” he said, bitterly.

One of the Daleks moved forwards from the others. “YOU ARE ENEMIES OF THE DALEKS,” it announced. 

“Everything's an enemy of the Daleks,” he replied. River pushed him aside and the Dalek in front moved back a little. 

The Doctor was surprised. “They're scared.”

“Of course they are,” said River, “you're the Oncoming Storm.”

“I know why they're afraid of _me_ , but why are they afraid of _you_?”

“CONVERSATION WILL CEASE,” cried the Dalek. 

“Why? Maybe if we all had a little chat we could put our differences aside and become friends,” the Doctor said.

The Dalek turned its eyestalk towards one of the others. “OUR ENEMIES HAVE BEEN TAKEN PRISONER. RELEASE THE GAS.”

“Wait,” said the Doctor, but then a white mist appeared in front of him and he fell over.

 

He woke up lying on his side on a metal floor. It was very uncomfortable and when he moved he found his hands cuffed together. “River!” he called, hoping she was near.

“I'm here, Sweetie.”

The Doctor pushed himself into a sitting position against a wall. “We're not dead,” he said, somewhat surprised.

“Not yet,” said River. 

“Thank you, Professor Pessimism,” he muttered. The air tasted of metal and the gravity was stronger now. “I don't suppose you know where we are?”

“Prison colony,” said River. “They're waiting for the Dalek Emperor to arrive before they kill us.”

“That's good,” said the Doctor, “that gives us some time.” He tested the handcuffs, which seemed to be annoyingly solid. “Have you ever met the Dalek Emperor?” he asked, conversationally. 

“Not personally.”

“I have. Not very impressive, really.”

“You should mention that at our execution,” said River. 

“We're going to escape,” he told her, with more certainty in his voice than he actually felt. 

“Of course we are,” said River, holding up an open pair of handcuffs. “I'd have been out of here an hour ago if I hadn't been waiting for you to wake up.”

The Doctor's mouth fell open slightly, and he shut it again quickly in case it made him look stupid. River was just full of surprises, wasn't she? 

“Do you need any help with those handcuffs?” she asked.

“No,” he said, “I'm good at these things.”

“Okay,” said River, with a small smile.

The Doctor twisted a bit and succeeded in hurting his left arm. 

“We don't have all day,” said River. 

“Just give me a minute!” 

River moved across the cell and sat down next to him. “There's no shame in needing a little assistance, Sweetie.”

“I don't need any help, thanks.”

“Are you sure?”

He sighed. “If it'll make you happy,” he said, telling himself that he could totally have freed himself if she hadn't been there to distract him. 

River shimmied over in front of him and started working on the lock with a pin that she produced from apparently nowhere. “You can concentrate on getting us out of this cell,” she said with an irritating kindness.

That was going to be tricky without the sonic screwdriver. “Do you have any more pins?” he asked.

“Just this one.” 

“If Captain Jack were here he'd have an entire arsenal in his -”

“There we go,” said River, releasing him from the cuffs.

The Doctor rubbed his wrists and then picked up the cuffs to examine them more carefully. “I think there's a tracking beacon in here,” he said after a few moments. “The Daleks over-think everything.”

“Is that good?”

“This time it is.” He stood and offered River a hand as she got to her feet. “With a bit of luck and a lot of skill, I might be able to turn it into a signalling device to get the door open.”

“How long will that take?” asked River, handing him her pin.

“Not long,” he said. He reached into his pocket for his glasses, but they had vanished along with the screwdriver. Ah well, he didn't really _need_ them anyway.

“I hate prisons,” said River, almost to herself. 

“Try not to commit any crimes,” he said, helpfully.

“That's a good idea, no wonder everyone thinks you're a genius.”

He glanced up at her, but she had turned away and he couldn't see past her hair. “I _am_ a genius,” he said, lightly. 

“And modest, too.”

She was bruising his ego. He decided to push back a bit. “And how did you and I meet, exactly?”

“You'll find out.”

“When?”

“When it's time.”

She was a deeply annoying woman. There was no way he was ever going to... well, whatever he was supposedly going to do with her, he was quite determined not to do it. Even if sounded like a good idea at the time. Which it wouldn't, he was certain.

“You're not travelling with anyone, are you?” she asked.

“No,” he said, suddenly eager to finish his work and get out of here.

“What happened?” 

He couldn't concentrate with this sort of thing going on. “Does it matter?” he asked, coldly.

“Yes, it does.”

“I thought you already knew everything about me.”

River shook her head. “Not everything.”

Maybe she did know. Maybe she just wanted to hear him say it. “I had a friend,” he said, keeping his voice steady. “Her name was Donna and she... she went home. I can't see her again. Ever.”

“What else?”

He blinked a few times because his eyes were getting misty and he needed to see what he was working on. “She doesn't remember me. I had to make her forget.”

“I'm sorry,” said River, touching his arm. “You won't always be alone, I promise.”

The Doctor shook his head. “Nah. I don't need anyone. I'm fine on my own.”

“You really aren't.”

He looked at her, and she looked at him. He could tell she wanted to say more, and he knew that she couldn't. He shrugged. “Don't worry about me.”

“If only,” said River. 

Finally something clicked inside the handcuffs and they started bleeping. “Finished,” he said, grateful for the distraction. 

The door of the cell slid open and they ran. 

 

“I think that went quite well,” said the Doctor as the TARDIS materialised back in the quarry. He looked at River. “Freed the prisoners, blew up some Daleks, got back to the TARDIS in time for tea.”

River smiled at him indulgently. “It didn't go too badly.” She stepped towards him and pressed a hand against his chest. “We haven't done the crash of the Byzantium yet, have we?”

He shook his head. “No, we haven't. You mentioned that before, can I ask what it is? ”

“It's a code,” she said.

Now he was confused. “A code? For what?”

“Wouldn't you like to know?” she asked with a wink and a wicked smile.

The Doctor felt himself blush. “No, we haven't done that yet,” he said as calmly as he could.

“Such a shame,” said River.

 _Oh, what the hell_ , thought the Doctor, and he said, “I'm not in a hurry to get away.”

River laughed. “Maybe next time, Pretty-Boy.” She kissed his cheek and stepped back. “I have to get back to work.”

She turned and walked down the ramp to the exterior doors. The Doctor thought about telling her that since he had a time machine she could go back to work whenever she wanted, but he fairly certain she knew that and was just making an excuse. 

When she reached the door he called after her. “River?”

She paused. “Yes?”

 _Don't go to the Library, never go to the Library, stay as far away from that place as you can._ “Thanks,” he said.

She smiled, nodded, and closed the door behind her as she left. 

He looked around the empty console room, then turned back to the controls. “Right,” he said to no one, “let's see if we can find a nice beach.”

He had all of time and space to explore. The universe was vast, and amazing, and if he happened to run in to River Song again... well, he wasn't going to complain about it if he did.


End file.
